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Top line carries Blues past Devils

Tarasenko, Schwartz, Schenn score for St. Louis

NEWARK, N.J. -- Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn each had a goal and two assists, and Jake Allen made 21 saves for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

The line of Jaden Schwartz, Schenn and Tarasenko combined for seven points (three goals, four assists) for the Blues (12-3-1), who have won six of their past seven games. The 12 wins are the most by St. Louis in its first 16 games.

"[Tarasenko and Schwartz] are two guys with tons of skill," Schenn said. "Each guy brings something different. [Tarasenko] is a shooter and can pretty much score at any given time. Schwartz is so good on the forecheck and with taking away pucks.

"The three of us complement each other, but at the same time we're working as a five-man unit and working as a team. That results in winning hockey."

Allen, who has allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his past nine starts, is 6-0-0 with a 1.17 goals-against average and .952 save percentage against the Devils.

"I'm just giving the boys a chance every night; that's my job," Allen said. "That's what me and [backup goalie Carter Hutton] want to do all year. We do our job and let the boys do the rest, and they've played well. We have a long way to go, but I think we'll take where we're at right now."

The Blues took a 2-1 lead 32 seconds into the third period when Schwartz scored a power-play goal after taking a backhand pass from Schenn.

"We wanted to stay with it and keep going and didn't want to give them any momentum or chances coming back our way," Schwartz said. "The defense did a good job of boxing guys out and keeping them to the outside. Brayden made a really good pass to me on the goal."

Blake Coleman scored, and Cory Schneider made 37 saves for the Devils (9-4-1), who have lost three straight and were outshot for the seventh straight game.

Tarasenko's goal came off a snap shot from the top of the left circle that deflected off the leg of Devils defenseman Mirco Mueller and beat Schneider to the short side with 1:03 remaining in the second period for a 1-1 tie.

"We were in control of the situation and then a harmless play goes in off [Mueller] and the power play starts the third and that just turns the game around," Schneider said. "We talk about getting good as the game goes on, and St. Louis got better as the game went on. It wasn't us."

Coleman gave the Devils a 1-0 lead 3:35 into the first period when he scored off a rebound from the slot. Brian Boyle earned the primary assist, his first point for the Devils in four games after returning following a leukemia diagnosis.

Highlight of the game

They said it

"[Allen] was outstanding. I thought that the Devils were the better team in the first period. I thought we were watching them and reacting to what they were doing and I thought [Allen] gave us a chance to stay in the game, to find our game and to find our tempo. Once we did that, it was a different game." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo

"It is good to contribute. I'm doing everything I can to fit into a new team. Our line was going pretty good in the first two periods, but you have to take ownership. I had chances on the power play where a couple of plays died on my stick. But it's great to be back and playing in front of the crowd. It was a great reception; I've had great support all the way through from these fans, and that's remarkable. But when the game starts, I want to contribute a little more." -- Devils forward Brian Boyle

Need to know

Schenn (one goal, six assists), Schwartz (one goal, three assists) and Tarasenko (two goals, three assists) have 16 points in the past two games. ... The Blues tied their record for most points (25) after 16 games to begin a season. St. Louis went 11-2-3 to open 2013-14 and 2000-01 (ties). ... Devils defenseman Damon Severson was a healthy scratch.

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